Two Westchester Companies awarded ESDC dollars

Two Westchester-based companies are among four throughout New York getting state bucks to spur the economy and create jobs.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in Tarrytown will get $4 million and Towers Watson Capital in White Plains will get $500,000 that are part of $11 million approved Wednesday by The Empire State Development Corporation.
The incentives are expected to create 130 new jobs and retain 905 existing ones, according to ESDC, and are part of $354 million in investments leveraged against private dollars and other funds across the state.
The announcement comes as Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 10 Regional Councils — including one in the Mid-Hudson Valley that was scheduled to meet today at Marist College — are charged with coming up with ways to strengthen regional economies and compete for up to $1 billion in economic development dollars.
The ESDC, which is acting as a lead agency managing the councils, on Wednesday also released its guidelines for such grants; they can be found at www.esd.ny.gov.
The Mid-Hudson Valley Council is headed by Dennis Murray, president of Marist College and Dr. Leonard Schleifer, president and CEO Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
The $4 million in state incentives for Regeneron was intended to keep the company from moving to New Jersey where it was looking at several “ready-to-move” spaces. It was first offered in 2006.
The money offsets construction costs of a new 229,000 square foot headquarters on Old Saw Mill River Road and the purchase of machinery; it’s part of $111.1 million in total costs.
As part of the agreement, the company must retain 565 jobs at its Westchester and Rensselaer locations.
Towers Watson, a financial services company, was awarded $500,000 to relocate from Valhalla to White Plains. The money is to offset $4.3 million in relocation and equipment costs. The company must retain 140 jobs as part of the agreement. The project was completed in 2010.
Other companies that received state dollars were GE Aviation Systems in Suffolk County ($6.35 million) and Ashland Advanced Materials in Niagara County ($225,000).